The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1887-04-09

Philadelphia Ledger, 4th, inst; The
anthracite coal trade season of 1878 has
opened. The spring circulars of prices for
coal to the line and city trade and for ship
ment beyond the CaDos of the Delaware
and from Elzabethport were published
last Monday. Since then the rates of tolls
from Mauch Chunk and Scluylkill Haven
via: railroads and canals have been an
nounced, the tolls by the former being
fixed at $3.50 per ton and by the latter at
Sl.35. pea and buckwheat sizes and culm
being charged Is cents per ton less than
for the larger sizes. For shipment beyond
the Capes the toll on coal delivered free on
board the vessel at Port Richmond is 81 .55
per ton. excepting for pea, buckwheat and
culm, which will pay 10 cents per ton less
toll. Heretofore the custom has been for
the Reading Railroad to charge the shipper
3S ~ per cent of the price actually obtained
for the coal T. o. b. at that shipping point.
In the past, when oyerproduction or COM
petition caused by any other reason nee
essitated the individual operators to sell
their coal at lower price than the Reading
Company's circular figures the railroad
suffered proportion of the decreased
profit. Now the railroad proposes fixed
rate of freight from the mines to tidewater,
and in the future, should there occur de-
cline in the market prices for anthracite,
the individual operators must bear the full
loss themselves. When the coal business
becomes dull, unless the individual can find
must pay the full rate of tolls and either
sell his coal at reduction and assume
himself the decreased profit or full loss, as
the case may be, or else ''shut down. his
operation and suspend mining. For many
years past IL has been the custom of anthra-
cite operators and shippers and the coal
transporting companies 10 open the season
with lower prices for coal aud reduced rates
of tolls compared with those which ruled
during the winter Immediately preceding.
This year, however, that old custom has
not prevailed, and not only have the prices
not been lowered but they have actually
been advanced over the past winters prices
for some sizes, and the tolls, too, remain
the same. At present the anthracite busi-
ness is dull, and it will in all probability
continue sOfOr at least thirty or sixty days
| The prices for coal, excepting for steam
sizes, are somewhat weaker than they were
a week or two ago. There is very little
coal in either first or second hands any
where, and at the several tidewater ship
ping points the accumulated stock of Goa |
is unusually low for this period of the year.
Most of the coal being daily forwarded
from the mines is going directly into con-
sumption and, compared with the past
several years, the average prices now being
obtained for anthracite are much higher.
As is well known, the old Coordination"
for the regulation of the anthracite trade
expired by limitation on the first instant.
Nobody seems to be worrying as. TO method
for either preventing Overproduction or
maintaing prices during this year. The
public belief is that while the old ''poor'
has expired there still exists ian under
standing between gentlemen" that the
anthracite business is too important an
industry to permit It to 60 entirely as it
pleases, and that, consequently, its inter
est will be cared for, and thar an excessive
output Of coal viii be by some means pre-
vented and hence prices Nilfbe maintained